By Bob Gardinier Staff writer

Published 2:28 pm, Tuesday, November 2, 2010

TROY -- Questar III will take delivery Wednesday morning of a Vietnam War-era Rockwell OV-10D Bronco airplane for the start-up of its aviation maintenance technology program.

The twin-engine turboprop warplane, nicknamed the ''Bronc,'' has a high-visibility cockpit and rear cargo compartment and was recognized as an all-purpose workhorse when it entered service in 1965, according to Jane's Defence Weekly, a digest of military news.

It will be the first of four airplanes scheduled to arrive at the Questar III campus in coming months for the new aviation maintenance technology program set to launch in September.

''We are trying to create a highly skilled program here in keeping with the Tech Valley area,'' said Dan Sherman, communications coordinator for Questar III BOCES. ''People don't realize what goes on behind the scenes to keep an airplane in the air.''

Two flatbed tractor-trailers will transport the Bronco from Maryland to the educational center on Colleen Road off Campbell Avenue, Sherman said.

The state Office of General Services coordinated the donation of the plane to Questar III, he said.

The two-year program will prepare high school students for careers as licensed power plant and airframe technicians, Sherman said.

The Bronco could take off and land on short runways or back roads. It was used in reconnaissance and forward observation and targeting missions during the war and had light armament capabilities.

It was retired from U.S. military service in 1994, but several are still in service as fire spotters and in the militaries of other countries.

Sherman said it was appropriate that Questar is the location of the new program because its center is near the site of the former Troy airport, which closed in 1964. The airport was located in the area south of Campbell Avenue and north of Sherman Avenue.